Vesuvius has erupted nearly 40 times since Pompeii

When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, it buried the Roman city of Pompeii under 20 feet of ash, which preserved it for nearly 1,700 years.

How powerful was the volcanic blast that destroyed parts of ancient Rome?

This article details how strong Mt. Vesuvius' powerful 79 CE blast may have been. Pompeii lay a bit further from the volcano's slopes than Herculaneum, a smaller seaside city. While Pompeii was mainly destroyed by ash and lapilli—glassy fragments of lava ejected during volcanic eruptions—Herculaneum was first hit by a scorching pyroclastic cloud of volcanic gas and other matter.

Mount Vesuvius' ancient Roman eruption may have literally boiled blood

Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, sending ash and debris far and wide, burying several cities and the people inside them. This article details the various ways the blast killed those in Herculaneum. This seaside town was hit with the same ash and debris as Pompeii, and it was also hit by a wave of volcanic gases estimated to be more than 500° Fahrenheit, about 260° Celcius.

When exactly did Mount Vesuvius erupt in ancient Rome?

Historians used to point to the summer of 79 CE when talking about the volcano that destroyed part of ancient Rome, claiming it occurred August 24, per the sole eyewitness account. This version of Pliny the Younger's letters survived via medieval manuscripts, and other versions don't mention a date at all or give a different one: October 24. This article explores new evidence that possibly shifts the deadly disaster to that fall.

A 101 on Pompeii

Vesuvius’ eruption in 79 CE preserved an entire Roman city in ash, leaving future archaeologists an unprecedented gift: the most complete glimpse to date into the daily life of ancient Romans. The encyclopedia entry, originally written by one of the site’s leading archaeological scholars, is a one-stop shop for all things Pompeii, including what several generations of archaeologists have discovered over centuries of excavation.

How did people survive the eruption in Pompeii?

In 79 CE, Mount Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii under roughly 20 feet of volcanic ash. This deadly eruption killed much of the city’s population, but archaeologists recently discovered evidence of survivors. In this podcast episode, classicist Steven Tuck challenges the popular belief of total annihilation and explains how people may have survived, and how they continued to live after the disaster.

Volcanologist survives 5 eruptions while living on Mount Vesuvius

As physicist Luigi Palmieri ducked around lava flowing down the slopes of Mount Vesuvius, he also solidified the field of volcanology. This article details his contribution to science through his dangerous ventures to the volcano that buried Pompeii...

Watch a 3D animation of Pompeii's final day.

A nearby super volcano poses an even greater risk to Italy than Vesuvius

The Campi Flegrei supervolcano, with over half a million residents nearby, may be the region’s true threat. This BBC short shows how scientists monitor Campania’s volatile geology—and why people remain drawn to the landscape despite the danger.

See Mount Vesuvius from space

Mount Vesuvius is one of the few active volcanos on Europe's mainland. See it from space in this photo from NASA's Earth Observatory. This natural-color image was taken on January 2, 2022, during a break in cloud coverage.

Where did all the refugees from the Mount Vesuvius eruption end up?

Archaeologists have found evidence of about 2,000 of Pompeii and Herculaneum's estimated combined population of 15,000. This article explores what happened to the remaining 13,000 people. Archaeologist Steven Tuck has proposed that the refugees fled the cities as volcanic activity increased, likely resettling elsewhere with family and friends. There's also evidence that the Roman Empire cared for many refugees fleeing Mount Vesuvius.

Pompeii's buried secrets are still being revealed

Despite digging for decades, archaeologists are still uncovering new insights into life before the blast that buried Pompeii. Follow a journalist's footsteps as they explore the ruins of Pompeii in this article. The ruins were discovered in the 1700s, and formal excavations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries revealed temples, mansions, and entire streets, while a third of the city remains to be excavated.

Volcanoes can be active, dormant, or extinct based on the recency of eruptions

Active volcanoes may be in the process of erupting or expected to erupt in the future, having done so within the past 11,650 years. Dormant volcanoes have no short-term eruption history, but are expected to erupt in the future, while extinct volcanoes lack the history and expectation.

A volcanic island north of Sicily is the world's longest continuously active volcano

Stromboli has been releasing lava for at least 2,000 years, with the earliest recorded eruption dating back to 350 BCE. Its mild but ongoing bursts of bright lava have earned it the nickname, "lighthouse of the Mediterranean."

Explore the archaeological treasures of Pompeii

Excavations revealed stunning finds—a wooden bed, a horse's saddle, and vivid frescoes—while also suggesting the eruption may have occurred in October, not April. See the discoveries from the EU's $140M Great Pompeii Project.

The average eruption cycle of the Yellowstone supervolcano is 735,000 years

Eruptions a little over 2 million, 1.3 million, and 630,000 years ago indicate that the eruption is not imminent, though the sample size is small. Recent analysis reveals magma pockets are not interconnected, reducing eruption risk.

Experts reconstruct Pompeii’s daily life—and whether disaster could strike again

This documentary utilizes archaeology, X-rays, and 3D reconstructions to reconstruct what the streets, homes, and rituals of Pompeii looked like before 79 CE. Scientists also use satellite imaging to track landslide risks that could damage the site today.

Explosive volcanic eruptions happen when magma pressure overcomes rock strength

Magma usually stays underground because of a balance between its upward pressure, the weight of the Earth’s crust above, and the crust’s rock strength. Landslides can reduce crust weight, while built-up gas pressure can strengthen magmastatic pressure.

Explore the collection of vivid frescoes Pompeii left behind

This gallery showcases remarkably preserved frescoes depicting food, daily life, landscapes, and myth. Tools abandoned during the eruption reveal how ancient artists worked, offering insight into Pompeii’s visual culture before Vesuvius buried the city in ash.

Read the only firsthand account of the Pompeii disaster

In two letters to historian Tacitus, Roman official Pliny the Younger describes the eruption from afar—earth-shaking, sky-darkening, and seawater retreating—and recounts how his uncle, Pliny the Elder, died while attempting a rescue.

The art and architecture of the devastated Pompeii

Long buried under feet of ash, the city of Pompeii's discovery millennia later sparked a world of imagination and tragedy. See a collection of paintings, buildings, and photographs from the city all in one easy-to-browse gallery.

Eruption forecasting relies on probabilistic methods resembling weather forecasting

While some volcanoes erupt with predictable signs, such as surface deformation from the build-up of underground magma pressure, others release magma at inconsistent rates. Extensive monitoring is needed to identify less clear patterns and indicators of future eruptions.

Explore Pompeii with an interactive map packed with 60+ key sites

This tool provides detailed information on major landmarks—from the Villa of Mysteries to the House of the Tragic Poet—and suggests themed walking routes based on visit length. A companion app adds virtual reconstructions and a full audioguide.

A nearby town proved even more archaeologically important than Pompeii

Herculaneum, buried under five times more ash than Pompeii, was sealed so completely that food, furniture, and entire buildings survived. This BBC documentary reveals how its discoveries have transformed scholars' understanding of the diets, work, and social mobility of ordinary Romans.

Unraveling the charred remains of the only known library from antiquity

This article details the quest to decipher the charred remains of a library buried during Mt. Vesuvius' volcanic blast. In 1752, nearly 2,000 papyrus scrolls were found in Herculaneum. According to this article, this collection is the only complete library that has survived from antiquity. In the last decade, scientists have made strides in decoding the crumbling texts.

The volcano threatening the Greek island of Santorini

Santorini is a popular tourist destination, known for its stunning white architecture and dreamy blue waters. Yet underneath the charming island is a potentially dangerous underwater volcano. Recent earthquakes have triggered nearly half of residents to evacuate, signaling heightened uncertainty about when the volcano could erupt. Researchers studying activity in the region plan to produce detailed hazard maps for Greek authorities to improve local safety and emergency planning.

New evidence suggests the eruption's victims died as their blood boiled

While most Pompeii victims suffocated or were crushed, spectroscopic analysis of bones from a nearby town indicates something more extreme: exposure to superheated gas that instantly boiled blood and caused deadly internal trauma.

An overview of Venus, from its retrograde rotation to its volcanic surface

Boasting over 1,600 major volcanoes—more than any other planet in the solar system—Venus rotates in the opposite direction as Earth, potentially due to a major collision during its formation that flipped the planet upside-down. The planet's rotation also makes days on Venus last longer than its entire year.

Pompeii had cafés, nightlife, public baths, and even local elections

This BBC History guide highlights how recognizably modern Pompeii was, from its cafés and bustling public bathing complexes to its theaters, bars, and active voting culture. Historian Mary Beard reveals the city’s surprisingly contemporary feel.

The fast food shops of ancient Pompeii

Researchers have unearthed a frescoed thermopolium (a sort of hot food and drink shop) in Pompeii, the ancient Roman city frozen in time after the catastrophic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE. This fascinating discovery provides a glimpse into Roman culinary practices and the daily life of Pompeii's citizens.

The list of historic volcanic eruptions includes the 1883 blast from Krakatau, which killed more than 36,000 and was the first such event to be documented in real time, thanks to the telegraph.

View the 10 biggest volcanic eruptions in recorded history

The Mount Tambora eruption in 1815 was the deadliest and released so much sun-blocking ash and gas that 1816 became known as “the year without summer.” The resulting global food shortages are estimated to have killed over 71,000 people.

The composition of magma affects the explosivity of volcanic eruptions

Silicate-rich magma contains extensive molecular chains that trap dissolved gases like water and carbon dioxide. These gases build pressure until they violently escape, creating explosive eruptions. Low-silica magmas produce gentler eruptions categorized as effusive.

The deadliest aspect of volcanic eruptions is often not lava, but pyroclastic flows—avalanches of ash, gas, and rock that can move more than half the speed of sound.

With a height three times that of Mount Everest and an area roughly the size of Poland, the Martian shield volcano Olympus Mons is the largest volcano in the solar system.

Human activities release 100 times the carbon dioxide of all volcanic eruptions

While gases released by volcanoes contribute to climate change, humans produce the carbon dioxide equivalent of a Mount St. Helens-sized eruption every 2.5 hours, or more than one Yellowstone eruption yearly, even though such supervolcanoes only erupt about every 100,000 to 200,000 years or more.

Many believe a cataclysmic volcanic eruption is imminent at Yellowstone, though experts say it is unlikely

Mike Poland, a scientist at the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory, estimates the likelihood of the event at one in a million. He cautions, though, that the park poses other potential dangers, including steam explosions and earthquakes.

Explore an interactive map of volcanoes, earthquakes, and tsunamis from 2150 BCE to the present.

Explore the British Museum's Pompeii and Herculaneum collection

This video tour utilizes the British Museum’s collection—featuring frescoes, tools, cookware, jewelry, and even carbonized food—to reconstruct daily life in Pompeii and Herculaneum, offering an expert view of how people lived before the eruption transformed both cities.

Supervolcanoes can eject enough material to fill one-fourth of the Grand Canyon

Although extremely rare, their released material can trigger winters by blocking the sun and cooling the Earth’s surface for years. The Toba supereruption 74,000 years ago disrupted food chains and reduced the human population to a few thousand.

View a gallery of diagrams for each volcano type with glossaries

The three major types of volcanoes—cinder cone, composite, and shield—each exhibit unique, lesser-known subterranean and surface features, including lava bombs, lahars, and spatter. Other types of volcanoes include lava domes, calderas, fissure volcanoes, and Maars and tuff rings.

Researchers think most of its residents escaped with their lives—but how?

With only a few hundred bodies recovered, evidence suggests most Pompeiians fled. This TED-Ed animation follows the stories of three hypothetical residents—one who stayed inside, one who ran, and one who fled by sea—to illustrate how their survival ultimately depended on the choices they made.

Located on Ross Island in Antarctica, Mount Erebus is the southernmost active volcano on Earth and features a lava lake—one of eight known worldwide as of 2026—that erupts regularly.

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

A collection of ancient graffiti from Pompeii, Herculaneum

From cavemen to marker-wielding children, humans have always wanted to leave their mark. Read some of the graffiti left by ancient Romans here. The cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum feature exquisite levels of preservation due to the nature of their demise. Viewers can see the surviving graffiti by clicking through the site's featured collections, which include topics such as poetry and love.

Yellowstone National Park is situated atop an active supervolcano

Yellowstone showcases geothermal phenomena, including the famous Old Faithful geyser and the vibrant Grand Prismatic Spring. The park's unique geological and ecological features make it an exceptional destination for visitors from around the globe.

Io, Jupiter’s moon, is the most volcanically active body in the solar system

The innermost and third-largest of Jupiter’s four Galilean moons, Io’s volcanic activity is driven by tidal heating from Jupiter’s gravitational pull. Its atmosphere is very thin and primarily composed of sulfur dioxide, and its volcanic eruptions can exceed 1,000°C.

Lava flow viscosity plays a significant role in the type of volcano formed

Thin, runny flows spread quickly before cooling, producing expansive layers that build over time into wide shield volcanoes. The ejection and fast hardening of thicker lava flows and pyroclastic material create steep slopes and the characteristic cone shape of composite volcanoes.

Explore a database of ancient graffiti

Take a look at thousands of pieces of graffiti from the walls of Herculaneum and Pompeii, including name tags, crude jokes, and crude drawings. The database, maintained by classical scholars, allows you to explore maps of the cities and images of the original inscriptions.

An in-depth look at Venus, our gassy neighbor

Get to know Venus, one of our closest planetary neighbors. Despite being named for the Roman goddess of love—and the only one named for a woman—Venus is an searingly hot place covered in thick carbon dioxide clouds, volcanoes, and warped mountain ranges. Yet it has a lot to teach us about planet Earth.